Our Ride To Home
by ThisIsAwesomeness
Summary: Fumbles with his hair until he smiles contently. Holds him close until he calms down. -Annabeth. Listens to her breathe until they fall asleep. Stares at he reflection until she looks back at him. -Percy. AU.


**A/N: I LIED. *sobs quietly* Okay. This didn't turn out like what I wanted it to be. *wails loudly, throws saucers* Sorry guys. But, I hope you like this.**

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When Percy looked up from his tattered, over-used and only copy of the comic-series The Olympians, there's someone sitting by his side, in his famous dumper seat at the far end of the bus.

A real person sitting beside him. In his famous dumper seat in the bus.

And the real person sitting beside him, in his famous dumper seat in the bus, was a girl.

Oh freaking surf shorts of Poseidon. It's a girl.

He craned his neck to scan the crowd, silently praying that this was one sort of a sick joke. That perhaps it was another trick set by Luke and his 'crybaby' comrades.

Nothing different. Nothing weird. Except for this girl by his side.

He tried to look at her from the fringe of black hair hanging loosely on his forehead, raising the comic book a little higher to obscure his motive.

Nervously averting his sea green eyes over to her face, he caught her impossibly gray eyes staring back at him. He blushed.

"What?" the girl asked, cocking her head in a fashion that intimidated him.

"Nothing."

He buried his face in the comic-book, trying to read over the words in the absence of light, missing the carefully drawn characters that were a permanent fixture in his memory.

He didn't dare glance at her again, but he could strongly feel her presence, like a well-memorized stanza in a collection of poems.

. . .

The next morning, when he rode the usual bus to school, the same girl sat with him again.

She didn't say a word or so, just plopped down on his dumper seat ceremoniously, as if they were friends that needed no interaction at all.

He stared at her, wondering how should he react to her actions. He wasn't a reactive person, Percy certainly knew that, but he'd be deeply curious over things, especially weird things that involved him. Like this case, perhaps.

As if sensing his discomfort, she suddenly spoke in a hushed voice. "I hope you don't mind, but I was just kicked out of my bus seat yesterday. Luke brought another one of his cronies."

She pointed on a girl Percy never saw before. He nodded.

Percy then wondered how usual this happened. Another kid losing a seat because of a big bully that no one dares to offend. But then, Percy wouldn't dare to offend him either, because it's like an unstated fact in the bus, demanding no explanation. Perhaps, he was just scared, that's all. Scared of losing more dignity than allowed.

They sat in silence. Percy staring at the places they'd passed by everyday and the girl reading a science book on her lap.

"Annabeth. My name's Annabeth," was the last thing she said for that day, before she stood up and got out of the bus. He remembered saying his name back, "Percy," and the ghost of a smile that threatened to appear on her face.

There he was, Percy Jackson repeating her name all over his lips, quietly, as she was the only kid who dared to sit by him in his dumper seat. He felt content that day.

That night, when he was sprawled comfortably in his bed, just moments before his consciousness faded completely, the last thought on his mind was her name Annabeth and probably the first one too, when he wakes up.

. . .

The next day, Percy stared at Annabeth through her reflection on the window, merely because he didn't have his comic-book to busy himself with.

He'll admit, looking at her reflection was a lot more easy than staring straight into her eyes, given that he wasn't doing it secretly.

But the fact that he's trying to do it furtively, yet she still caught him looking at her too many times to count, made Percy strangely embarrassed. It wasn't just because secretly staring at someone was considered invasion of privacy or immodest. Its just there's something about Annabeth that intimidated him more than ever. He wondered if it's her golden blond curls that stuck on her neck with sweat, the weird steely color of her gray eyes or perhaps the way she calmly listened on the songs on her ipod. It's just something he couldn't quite place his finger on.

Without meaning too, he blushed when she stared at him through her reflection on the window. She smirked.

Wordlessly, Annabeth plucked the earbud out of her right ear and placed it in Percy's ear. She continued scrolling on her songs like what she did was usual, selecting one and playing it.

Percy never asked why and so she never answered.

He noticed how Annabeth let out a relieved sigh and closed her eyes, relaxing as the music began playing. Percy relaxed beside her too.

They sat in the dumper seat at the far end of the bus almost like yesterday, except for the new found wonder between them. It felt like there's an eerie intimacy in listening to music, especially if they're breathing it in, like immersing theur thoughts with the rhythm.

Throughout the ride, amidst the roaring engine of the bus, the loud clattering of voices: shouting and talking, Percy could only hear one distinct sound; the melodic sound of Annabeth's calm and measured breathing, like an infinite loop of music playing all over and over his head.

. . .

Their days passed by in a blur. Them alternately listening, reading and dreaming. The talked too, sometimes. But it's more of the unspoken routine that happened often.

The songs on Annabeth's ipod increased in number, some of them being Percy's recommendation. They were mostly slow and acoustic songs, jazz and RNB. They never go for pop and rock, because Annabeth said it made her ears pop. There was one time they accidentally listened to a love song on her ipod, which made them both uneasy.

They're sitting on their usual dumper seat, quietly enjoying the company of a slow song. They weren't dating, that was positive, but Annabeth had the special liberty of holding Percy's hand without malice. She did it most of the time when they're physically close, enjoying the feel of his warmth in touch with her own. And most of the time, Percy intertwined their fingers. The slow song faded until the next one played. Annabeth didn't know who the first one reacted but she could feel her hand sweating just underneath Percy's. She tried to maintain a relax disposition but it's hard when all her deeply buried thoughts about Percy resurfaced and jammed with the all-too cheesy but heartfelt lyrics of the song. Cracking one eye open, she glanced at him to see what his reaction was. He was staring back at her, with something unreadable in his expression. After a moment, they both looked away and carefully slid their fingers out if their hold.

There was an awkward pause after that.

. . .

Percy also learned that Annabeth was an avid reader of the comic-series The Olympians, like him. In fact, she has the complete series of the comic book, clean and neat, unlike his. She vowed to let him borrow hers.

They talked about it, at times when Annabeth forgot to bring her ipod. They would drone on how epic and cool the series was recalling some awesome and funny moments in the book. Sometimes, they would argue about the rivalry of Athena and Poseidon, about who should win against the other. But, in the end, no one really won, because it turned out that their offsprings fell in love in the sweet hole that love was. The love story of their children was something Percy and Annabeth wouldn't argue about, (considering Annabeth was nowhere deemed fit for the definition of Romantic and Percy, a deeply oblivious and inexperienced fella) as if they both felt the strong tugging force of attraction between the characters.

. . .

At rare times, when neither of them was up for listening and reading, they dream quietly; staring at something beautiful inside the bus, letting their thoughts float into vivid pictures of dream and wonder.

Then, they'd whisper softly on each other's ears, exchanging dreams of their own brilliance, careful not to let a word slip out of their whispering zone. A smile would force it's way to their faces and they'd dream, whisper and smile once more.

They shared everything they thought about, all, all of them, even the embarrassing ones the were both reluctant to talk; except for the fact that they stared secretly at each other as they'd try to search and dream for something beautiful.

. . .

Their day was just like the usual, except that Percy was borderline clumsy and hot today. 'Hot like sick, not that other hot,' Annabeth reminded herself.

"Are you sure you're fine? I could accompany you to your house," she asked once again. She really would insist, if she didn't just have an assignment to finish, due tomorrow.

Pervy waved her off. "I'm fine as Poseidon surfs the seas. Just a little sore and tired. It'll get off eventually. Worry about your assignment, Annabeth."

"I'm not doing assignments until you are fine, Percy. You know that," Annabeth said.

He grinned at her. "I know. But, I insist you do that or I'll get worse worrying about you."

Annabeth grabbed his head to lean on her shoulder. "Perhaps, I can just cuddle you for good measure."

"Annabeth doesn't cuddle. I'm sure of that."

"Except for today. I'm cuddling you, Percy Jackson. So, shut up," she ordered. Annabeth started pulling and fumbling with Percy's hair, running her fingers over the soft black strands of his hair. He sighed and buried his nose onto the crook of her neck and Annabeth felt his warm breath blew in her even though she didn't know, she continued playing with his hair like a habit she didn't knew she had. She tugged, raked and ruffled, until she felt him smile a content smile, and Annabeth knew she'd done the right thing.

. . .

"Boo. Slow. Stupid. No daddy."

The kids continued throwing insults at Percy, the school cafeteria roaring with laughter

He sat at the darkest corner, surrounded by Luke and his cronies. Percy kept his hands on both of his ears, trying to block the hurtful words he received. The worst things was, the sounds kept making themselves heard even though his mind was vacuum. He shuddered everytime they kick him, punch him and throw things at him. Percy wad never fight and so he kept quiet to himself, accepting all the bullying.

But then, Annabeth came and she strode towards him silently, not even bothering to notice the sudden stillness in the room. She knelt beside him and held his face, as she dried all of his tears pooling around his sea green eyes. After that, she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the cafeteria towards an empty spot in the school garden.

There, Annabeth wrapped her arms around him, encasing Percy's little frame in her body. His body still shook with silent sobs but she continued patting and rubbing his back, as if she didn't quite mind that her shirt's getting wet.

She held him close, humming Percy's favorite tune from her ipod, until he calmed down, until she felt him smile onto her skin. Annabeth smiled instinctively though he couldn't see it.

"Why'd you do that, Annabeth? Why'd you save me?" He mumbled on her skin.

"Because you're my friend, idiot. Anymore stupid questions?"

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